Blog Archive for September 2018

Educators know that academic skills are just one piece of the puzzle when it comes to the success of their students. Understanding math and science is important, but to be prepared for life after graduation students need to understand how to navigate relationships and make healthy decisions too. In fact, research finds that social-emotional skills like these are more indicative of success than IQ. Despite this knowledge, making SEL part of everyday learning is not easy. While many teachers work on these skills in their classroom, the education system as a whole is not yet set up to support widespread implementation of SEL practices. So we're bringing 19 districts together to tackle this challenge in the second year of the Excellence through Social Emotional Leaning Network.

The Rennie Center has made long-time board member Celine Coggins its new board chair. Dr. Coggins, who has been involved with the Rennie Center since its founding in 2005, was recently appointed Executive Director of Grantmakers for Education. She previously led Teach Plus, a nonprofit with a mission to empower educators. She originally launched Teach Plus as a subsidiary of the Rennie Center and has since overseen its rise to a national network of more than 24,000 teachers.